Her Name was Annabel
by RedQueenMiku
Summary: The past can be a very scary thing, especially when it comes back to haunt one's memories. Not even the mighty King of the Koopas can truly forget the darkness of his own past. (one-shot)


Bowser leaned against the balcony railing, overlooking the city below him, glowing in the night with many brilliant colors. Inside, his wife, Clawdia, was sleeping soundly. She had every right to. Not only had the Koopa family just finished moving into their new home, Clawdia was also pregnant and due to give birth to her new twins any day now. She and her husband still had yet to decide on names for the children, though.

Bowser closed his eyes and exhaled heavily. Clawdia and the children, Ludwig and Roy, had just come to the new castle from their old home at Koopa Keep. This was the first night in hundreds of years that the castle at Koopa Keep would be completely vacant. The Koopa royal family had been living in that castle for generations.

 _"What would she think of me if she knew I left?"_

The thought sent a chill up his spine. He knew he couldn't stand to live in Koopa Keep anymore, though. In fact, he could barely stand to look at the old castle anymore. That's exactly why he'd requested this new city be built: Neo Bowser City. Still, he couldn't shake the guilt of leaving his childhood home behind to gather dust. Of course, it would likely still be preserved by some historical society or another, but that wasn't the point.

 _"Would she have wanted me to stay?"_

Since he requested Neo Bowser City's construction years ago, his nightmares had been haunted by her presence. She kept screaming to him to stay. She begged him not to leave her behind. It was the most frightening thing Bowser had ever experienced and he had to wonder if it was really Annabel's ghost coming back to haunt him.

Bowser let himself become consumed in his memories. Annabel was Bowser's everything when he was a child. She was two years younger than him, but the two young Koopas were extremely close; a brother-sister duo for the ages. Bowser was a timid, nervous child back then, but Annabel was always there for him whenever he needed her. The two supported each other through everything and always had each other's back.

Sure, not everything was great back then, but they still had each other...

* * *

"Hey, Bowser!"

The young prince turned his attention away from the stuffed cat in his hands to glance over at his sister, who was cuddling her own stuffed cat. Her long, black hair fell into the cat's face, even though it was currently tied into two pigtails.

"How about we name these two cuties?" Annabel said, referring to the two stuffed animals.

"Name them?" Bowser repeated confusedly. The siblings had received their new toys from their uncle mere hours ago as a gift; two identical stuffed cats with tiny top hats and monocles. Now they were up in Annabel's room with the playthings. Of course, the two young royals' older cousins, Regina and Anastasia, had teased them mercilessly for still playing with stuffed toys. Bowser wasn't really sure he even wanted the toy after that.

"Two dapper gentlemen like them need names," Annabel went on, "They can be twins!"

"I'm not sure," Bowser replied hesitantly, "Are you sure we're not too old to be playing with toys?"

"What?" Annabel exclaimed, "Are you letting Regina and Anastasia get to you again?"

"What if they're right this time?" Bowser said, setting his stuffed cat down on the floor.

"Those two don't know what they're talking about," Annabel said, placing a hand on Bowser's shoulder, "We can do what we want. It's not up to anyone to tell us we're too old for something, right?"

Bowser stared at Annabel. He wasn't quite sure how to reply.

"I know King Dad's been pushing you to grow up," Annabel said, her tone growing more melancholy, "but, if you grow up too much, we can't have fun together anymore."

Annabel looked like she was about to cry.

"P-please don't cry, Annabel!" Bowser pleaded, "I promise, I'll still always want to have fun with you! When I become king, you and I will be able to do whatever we want and no one can tell us what to do, all right?"

Annabel smiled.

"I promise," Bowser continued, "When I become king, you and I are going to change everything in this kingdom for the better."

Annabel looked away.

"Do you think all those people are right about King Dad?" Annabel asked, "Is King Dad really making the kingdom worse?"

"I don't know," Bowser answered, "But, when I'm king, nobody's going to say that kind of stuff about me. I'll make sure of it."

"Tons of people have already left the kingdom," Annabel went on, "King Dad's being way too hard on them."

"I'm going to make sure all of that changes. I promise."

Annabel stared at her stuffed cat, holding it up in the air.

"I think I'll name him Sir Lemuel Percival Catsworth," she said, still staring at the toy, "It's a regal name for a regal kind of gentleman. What are you going to name yours, Bowser?"

Bowser picked his own stuffed cat up off of the floor and stared at it for a moment, scrunching up his face in confusion.

"What do you think?" Bowser asked, "I don't think I can come up with anything good."

"Well, let's start you off with a first name," Annabel said, moving closer to her brother, "There are a lot of fancy-sounding names out there. What about Regis?...or Winston?...or Ignatius?"

"That one sounds fine," Bowser responded, "Ignatius."

"Great!" Annabel replied with a smile, "What about his middle name? You come up with one this time!"

"Uh..." Bowser groaned, drawing up a blank, "How about Ig...Ignacio?"

"Ignatius Ignacio Catsworth?" Annabel asked confusedly.

"I-I think it sounds good," Bowser stuttered, "It kind of sounds catchy."

"Well, if you like it, I do too!" Annabel said cheerfully, "Sir Lemuel Percival Catsworth and Sir Ignatius Ignacio Catsworth are the best twins forever!"

Bowser giggled. Annabel always knew how to make the most of every situation and she always knew how to make young Prince Bowser smile.

* * *

Bowser felt a tear slip down his cheek before he jerked backward, his eyes immediately shooting open. The lights from the city flooded his blurry vision with color. The Koopa King immediately wiped the tears from his eyes. He was remembering when he and Annabel first received their two prized stuffed animals they'd play with together for years to come. Of course, the two young Koopas had other toys, but those two stuffed cats had always been their favorites. They always reminded the two siblings of their vows to each other to repair their father's kingdom after he was gone. Unfortunately, all of that changed on that one fateful day...

* * *

Young Prince Bowser paced up and down the large castle hallway. He couldn't help but worry about Annabel. She'd contracted Mushroom Fever and was currently under quarantine. Everyone told him she'd be fine, but the young prince was still worried about her nonetheless. There were doctors coming and going from Annabel's room constantly and every one that passed Bowser by made sure to remind him not to go near Annabel's room.

Bowser sighed heavily and leaned back against a pillar. He'd heard about how deadly a disease Mushroom Fever could be and he could only hope that Annabel really would be okay. That's when he realized he hadn't seen a doctor come down the hall in at least an hour or two. He decided to try to make his way toward Annabel's room, but, halfway there, he saw his father making his way toward him.

"Bowser," Morton called, "I've been looking for you."

Bowser said nothing in reply, instead staring blankly at his father.

"Come," Morton said, taking Bowser's hand and leading him down the hall away from Annabel's room, "Your mother and the rest of the family are all already outside."

"Outside?" Bowser asked confusedly, "Is there something going on?"

Morton said nothing. Bowser decided to simply let his father continue to lead him forward. Soon, the two reached one of the balconies on the second floor overlooking the courtyard. The rest of Bowser's family was there, but something wasn't right. His mother looked like she'd been crying and even Regina and Anastasia looked solemn.

"King Dad?" Bowser squeaked, "What's going on?"

Morton still didn't reply. Bowser hesitantly ventured toward the balcony railing and glanced down into the courtyard. He then reeled back in horror at what he saw. All of Annabel's things had been placed in a large pile in the courtyard. On the very top of the pile was Annabel herself, her body limp and lifeless. Even so, she was still holding that stuffed cat in her arms.

"She died a few hours ago," Morton said, "She died much too quickly. She was never fit to be a member of the royal Koopa family."

Bowser choked on a breath. His cheeks were growing hot, but, no matter how much he wanted to yell at his father, nothing was coming out of his mouth.

"From this day forward," Morton continued, "Annabel never existed. I never want to hear her name spoken in my kingdom ever again."

Bowser then saw a guard bearing a torch walk toward the pile in the courtyard. He screamed as loudly as he could, but it was too late. The pile quickly burst into flame. Bowser shut his eyes tightly, but he could still hear the crackling of the flames as they consumed the body of his beloved sister. He bared his fangs as tears slid down his cheeks. He could barely even think straight. The only thought in his mind right now was the gruesome image of Annabel 's charred corpse.

"She was worth nothing, Bowser," Morton snarled, "The sooner you realize that, the better."

* * *

Bowser gripped the stone railing of the balcony tightly, tears rolling from his eyes. That day was the day that ruined him forever. From that day forward, he absolutely despised his father. In fact, Bowser was ecstatic when his father finally died, supposedly as the result of an assassination. Even so, Bowser had never told anyone else about Annabel. Even Clawdia was completely in the dark about the existence of Bowser's sister. It was much too painful for Bowser to even recall, much less speak to anyone about.

Bowser had kept his promise to Annabel, though: once he became king, he resolved to bring the kingdom into a new golden age. Bowser was already popular with the people of his kingdom and the king was working to improve conditions for everyone living in the Darklands.

Bowser looked out over his city once again. What would Annabel have thought of this place? Would this place even have a reason to exist if not for Annabel's death?  
The Koopa King bared his fangs and began trembling. He then screamed as loudly as he could, letting the ghastly sound echo into the distance. He'd probably woken up his wife and children, but he didn't care at the moment.

 _"When I become king, you and I will be able to do whatever we want and no one can tell us what to do, all right?"_

Bowser leaned against the railing of the balcony and began sobbing. He didn't care if anyone found him out here now. He just wanted to cry.

* * *

Two weeks later, Bowser found himself pacing outside Clawdia's room. She'd gone into labor and the babies were coming.

"King Bowser?" one doctor said, poking his head out of the door to Clawdia's room, "Your queen wishes to see you. She'd like for you to hold your new twin baby boys."

Bowser quickly followed the doctor into the room to see Clawdia cradling two tiny baby Koopas in her arms. They both had little wisps of pink, blue, and yellow hair.

"Congratulations," Clawdia said with a smile, "Once again, you're a father."

Bowser chuckled as Clawdia handed him one of the babies.

"What do you think we should name them?" Clawdia asked. Bowser stared at the tiny child in his arms for a moment before answering.

"Well," Bowser began, "Two dapper young gentlemen like these two need names fitting of regal gentlemen, don't you agree?"

"Really?" Clawdia said, giggling, "Well, since I named Ludwig and Roy on your behest, my liege, what names do you suggest for your two dapper young gentlemen?"

"The one in your arms, my queen," Bowser continued playfully, "shall henceforth be known as Lemuel Percival Koopa, and the one I have in my arms shall henceforth be known as Ignatius Ignacio Koopa."

"Ignatius Ignacio?" Clawdia asked with a playful smirk, "Is that really what you want to name him?"

"So I'm not that great at coming up with names," Bowser replied, "These two names are very special to me, though."

"Why is that?" Clawdia asked.

"Because of someone I used to know..."

Little Ignatius yawned and snuggled into his father's chest. The Koopa King smiled, resisting the urge to cry.

"...someone that I think would be happy for me now."


End file.
